f PENNSYLVANIA MASTER CORN GROWERS ASSOC, INC
Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 18, 1995
Kreider
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
LEBANON (Lebanon Co.)
Richard Kidder has one
goal in mind: 210 bushels of
com this year.
How he will work to achieve
that yield goal will depend on
several factors that he can con
trol. such as seed selection and
soil fertility.
Only one thing remains out
of his control: the weather.
That’s why he subscribes to a
weather tracking system, which
allows him to monitor
approaching storms through
use of heavily sophisticated
radar systems which are broad
cast via satellite right into his
office.
It’s this reliance on high
For Crists, Hybrid And
4
Weather Help Ensure
Winning Yields
JERSEY SHORE (Lycom
ing Co.) Choosing the right
hybrid and then getting the
right weather woriced hand in
hand to ensure three first-place
finishes for the Crist family in
the 1994 Pennsylvania Five
Acre Com Club contest.
David Crist captured first
place in the shelled grain class,
regular harvest size. Mark Crist
took first place ear com class,
hand harvest. John Crist had a
first place in the ear com
machine harvest class.
The Crists manage several
farms in the Jersey Shore reg
ion, maintaining about 300
John Crist, left and Mark Crist placed first In the ear
corn, machine harvest class In the state corn club
contest.
Sets 210 Bushels Per Acre As Yield Goal
techology, including a new
computerized business record
system, that allows him to com
pete with several larger farms
in the Lebanon Valley area.
This year, Kreider said, he
aims to achieve the first place
that has eluded him on the Pen
nsylvania Five Acre Com Club
contest for three-year average
awards since 1986 the last.
time he placed first in the
contest.
In 1995, he said, “I’m just
going to try to do the best I can
and hope the weather coop
erates,” he said. ‘T’m still
going to shoot for my yield
goals of2oo-plus. When I plant
the field. I’m going to have that
in mind.”
(Turn to Pag* 2)
acres. Of that, 180 acres is
devoted to com production and
a majority of it is seed com. The
remaining acreage is split
between soybean production,
vegetable production, and alfal
fa hay.
The Crists also finish about
100 head of beef cattle per year,
which they sell at the Jersey
Shore Livestock Auction.
Selecting the right hybrids
and good weather conditions
woriced hand in hand to ensure
contest-winning yields, accord
ing to John Crist. * 4 When three
varieties break 200 bushels per
(Turn to Pago 5)
Kreider, who inspects his awards, said that using the right kind of seed com
helped, used in conjunction with proper fertility. He soils tests regularly. He
aims to place down roughly a unit of nitrogen per busheiaf corn as his yield
goal.
COUNTDOWN TO
CORN PLANTING
In just about a month from
now or less, the com planting
season begins and the excite
ment and challenges of a new
season will be with us.
As most management deci
sions involved in com produc
tion are made before planting,
the “countdown” stage we are
entering into now is one of the
most critical of the year. Care
ful planning and decision mak
ing now can have on dramatic
impact on the success of your
1995 com program.
Hybrid decisions should be
finalized by now. Hopefully,
you have included some diver
sity in your hybrid lineup in
terms of maturity and drought
tolerance. A mix of maturities
adds some hedge against the
weather. Earlier hybrids will do
a little better in seasons where
the drought stress comes late in
the year, after the com has pol
linated and set grain.
On the other hand, in seasons
where early drought stress
occurs followed by late season
rains, full-season hybrids will
YLVANIA MASTER
>RN GROWERS
ASSOCIATION
Between The Rows
Dr. Greg Roth
Penn State Agronomy
Assistant Professor
perform better. During the
countdown, we should be
thinking about hybrid place
ment. Our research has shown
that high-yielding hybrids vaiy
in how they react to droughr
and diseases.
Using hybrids that are stable
and yield well under stress is 7
key on fields with shallow soils.
Placing the disease-resistant
hybrids on areas that are more
prone to leaf diseases such as
river bottoms and no-till into
com stalks will help to avoid
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Farm Calendar
Ihiirsdiix, M;irth 23
'"Maryland Nutrition Confer
ence For Feed Manufactur
ers, Stouffer Harborplace
Hotel, Baltimore, Md., thru
nAg Educational Seminar,
yield-reducing disease losses.
Another objective during the
countdown period should be to
make sure your com planter is
ready to go. Planter problems
can also cause seed depth and
or seed distribution problems.
Both of these can cause
increased stand variability that
will reduce yields.
Variation in seed depth can
cause variation in emergence,
which causes some plants in the
stand to lag behind and act liter-
(Turn to Pago 4)
— «~
S.E. Research and Extension